Centrifugal pump



Dec. 2, 1952 R. H. BROWN 2,619,910

' CENTRIFUGAL PUMP Filed Aug. 21. 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 INVENTOR. 50% @l#' h. 5/01 14? AITORNEY Dec. 2, 1952 R. H. BROWN cENTRiFuGAL PUMP 2 SHEETS--SHEET 2 Filed Aug. 21. 1950 INVENTOR. Evie/v H 5/01/10? AT TORNEY Patented Dec. 2, 1952 UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE Robert H; Brown, Pulaski, Tenn.

Application August '21, 1950;Serial No. 180,670

1 Claim.

This 'invention;'- relates to ta centrifugal pump and: more particularly to:thercentrifugal pump of-rthe type employed :in domestic-and farm use.

Pumps-of .the'type to which this invention re-' lates are usually equipped with a stufling box through which the drive shaft for'the impeller ofthe pump extends into the impeller chamber of the'pump casing. Owing to the high degree of-friction encountered by the rapidly turning shaft in thestufling box 'or water :seal, it is impracticable'to exert sufiicient pressure on the packing to completely eliminate leakage of water around'the shaft. Accordingly most pump casings of the type to-whichthis invention relates are constructed with drainage chambersad-jacent the impeller chambers through which water seeping through the packing gland or water seal is discharged as waste. Y In actual practice it has also been found that by maintaining a limited degree of leakage around the .drive shaft of the pump between the impeller chamber and the drainage chamber heat caused by the friction of the packing against the shaft can be controlled so as to avoid undue heating of the parts.

Owing to theleakage of liquid from. the impeller chamber through the packing gland or water seal of the pump, difiiculty has been experienced in retaining'the prim-e of the pump, particularly where such a pump may remain idle for a protracted period of time, or may be only intermittently operated over relatively long periods. As a consequence it frequently becomes necessary to prime such pumps, and unless priming facilities have been provided at the time of the initial installation of the pump, much difliculty is experienced in introducing sufiicient liquid into the impeller chamber to enable the pump to operate satisfactorily.

The primary object of this invention is to utilize the liquid which may escape from the impeller chamber through the packing gland or water seal as priming liquid for the pump.

Another object is to facilitate the introduction of priming liquid into the impeller chamber of the pump and to incorporate these features without material redesign of the casing of pumps of the type to which this invention relates.

The above and other objects may be attained by employing this invention which embodies among its features a pump casing having an impeller chamber and a priming chamber adjacent said impeller chamber, a shaft extending through the priming chamber and into the impeller chamber and having a conventional packing gland surrounding it between said chambers so that leakage from the impeller chamber through the packing gland will find its way into the priming chamber, and means for establishing communication between the priming chain ber and impeller chamber for returning liquid which has leaked into the priming chamber to the impeller chamber.

Other features include means connected with the discharge port of the impeller chamber for directing liquid from said port into the priming chamber.

Still other features include supporting on the wall of the priming chamber remote from the impeller chamber a packing gland or liquid =seal through which thedri-ve shaft extends, said gland serving to confine liquid within the priming chamber.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a-top plan view of a pump embodying the features of this invention;

Figure 2'is an end view of a pump illustrated in Figure 1, taken from the intake end thereof;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken substantially along the line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially along the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings in detail, a pump casing designated generally I0 is provided: with an impeller chamber l2 and anadjacent priming chamber [4. The impeller chambers l;2,,is provided with an axial intake port It and a peripheral discharge port l8, and formed in the wall 20 between the impeller chamber l2 and the priming chamber [4 of the pump casing I0 is an opening 22 which opens into a socket 24 in which packing 26 is seated and which is compressed by a conventional packing gland 28 which is accessible through the priming chamber I4.

Formed in the wall 30 of the priming chamber H! of the casing I0 is an opening 32 which aligns axially with the opening 22 in the wall 20 and this opening opens into a recess 34 in which rings 36 of packing material are held by a gland 38 which is accessible from the interior of the chamber M. It is to be noted that the top of the chamber I4 is wholly open while the bottom thereof is provided with a drainage opening 40 which is normally closed by a plug 42.

Formed in the wall 20 below the opening 22 and establishing communication between the chambers I2 and I4 is an internally screw threaded opening 44 into which is threaded a nipple 46 carrying a valve 48, the stem 50 of which projects upwardly through the opened top 3 of the chamber [4 and carries at its upper end above the top of the chamber M a suitable handle 52 by which the valve 48 may be opened or closed.

Opening into the chamber I4 adjacent its upper end is a drainage spout 54 which serves to prevent over filling of the chamber H with liquid. A drive shaft 56 extends through the openings 22 and 32 and through the ring shaped packing 24 and 35 and is supported on suitable antifriction bearings 58 carried by an extension 69 on the pump housing 10. This shaft extends into the chamber I2 and has attached thereto in any conventional manner for rotation therewith an impeller 62 which, when the shaft is rotated, estabishes a flow of liquid through the impeller chamber l2 from the intake port [6 through the discharge port I8. Carried by the pump housing l0 and opening into the discharge port ['8 is a pipe nipple 64 which extends horizontally above the top of the chamber l4 and is provided with a valve 66 having its discharge end 68 disposed to deliver liquid into the priming chamber I4. A handle 10 is connected with the valve 68 for manipulating it in order to open or close the passage therethrough according to the desires of the user.

In operating the pump, the drive shaft 56 is coupled in any conventional manner to any suitable prime mover by which the shaft 56 may be set into rotation. Should the impeller chamber [2 contain insufficient liquid to operate properly, a priming charge may be introduced into the priming chamber l4 and upon opening the valve 48 liquid will flow through the nipple 46 and passage into the impeller chamber 1 2. After the pump has been set into satisfactory operation, the valve 48 is closed and the pump operated in a conventional manner. Should it be desired to replenish the supply of liquid in the priming chamber M, the valve 66 is opened so that liquid flowing through the discharge port I8 can be directed through the open top of the chamber I 4 into said chamber until a desired level has been reached after which the valve 66 is closed. Should the valve 66 remain open and the level of liquid in the chamber l4 reach the discharge spout 54 it is obvious that overflow of the chamber will be avoided and the liquid held at the level of the discharge spout.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred form of this invention, it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

In a centrifugal pump, a pump casing having an impeller chamber and a priming chamber at one side of the impeller chamber, said impeller chamber having an axial intake port and a radial discharge port, said priming chamber having an open top, a water seal carried by the pump casing between the impeller chamber and the priming chamber, an aligning water seal carried by the pump casing on the side of the priming chamber remote from the impeller chamber, a drive shaft extending through said water seals and into the impeller chamber, an impeller on the drive shaft within the impeller chamber, a pipe carried by the pump casing and opening into the discharge port and arranged to discharge liquid from the discharge port into the open top of the priming chamber, a shut-off valve in said pipe, a pipe carried by the pump casing and opening into the impeller chamber and located in and opening the priming chamber for conveying liquid from the priming chamber into the impeller chamber, a shut-off valve in the last pipe, and a control stem connected with the last named shut-01f valve and extending upwardly through the open top of the priming chamber for operating the last named valve to control the flow of liquid from the priming chamber to the impeller chamber.

ROBERT H. BROWN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Sweden" Aug. 12, 1908 

